salmon



(No Model.) 3 Sheet ;sSheet 1. i

E. B. COXE & $.SALMON.

AUTOMATIC SLATE PIGKER;

N0..382,215. Patented May 1, 188B.

N. PErERSv Plluto-Liihngmphcr. wnshm xan, I)v C.

3 Sheets-Sheet (No Model.)

N 0 M L An S S & E X 0 V C. B H

AUTOMATIC SLATE PICKER.

Patented May 1, 71888.

N4 PU'ERS. Phulwldkhugmpher. Washington. D, C.

\ (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Shet 3.

E. B. OOXE & S. SALMON.

AUTOMATIC SLATE PIGKER.

No. 882,215. Patented May 1, 1888.

UNITED STATES PATENT Erica.

EOKLEY B. OOXE AND SAMUEL SALMON, OF DRIFTON, PENNSYLVANIA; SAID SALMONASSIGNOR TO SAID OOXE.

AUTOMATIC SLATE-PICKER SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0.382,215, dated May 1, 1 888.

' Application filed February 24, 1887. Serial No. 228.792. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EOKLEY B. OoXE and SAMUEL SALMON, of Drifton, inthe county of Luzerne,and in the State of Pennsylvania,have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Slate-Pickers; and wedo hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which-- Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a chute provided with.our screen Fig. 2, a vertical longitudinal section of the same; Fig. 3,a plan View of the screen; Fig. 3 a detail enlarged perspective view ofa part of the discharge end of the screen, showing the shape of theslate-exit slots; Fig. 4, a transverse section of the same on line :0 mof Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a similar section of the screen on line y y of Fig.3; and Fig. 6, a detail perspective view, showing the under side of oneof the screen bars or teeth.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of thefigures.

The object of our invention is to provide an improvement in automaticslate pickers, adapted also for the separation of the flat or laminatedportions from any mass of broken or granular material; and to this endour invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combinationof the parts thereof, as hereinafter specified, and set forth in theclaims.

7 We show and will describe ourinvention as applied especially to acoal-chute for the separation of the slate from the coal, but desire itto be understood that it is equally applicable 1 for the separation offlat coal from round coal,

consists of a plate having longitudinal surfaces or faces B B B,inclined toward one side of the screen, and other more upright or abruptsurfaces or faces B B B preferably inclined slightly toward the otherside of the screen, joining the lower edge of each face B with the upperor higher edge of the next face B. With this construction a series oflongitudinal troughs or valleys are formed, having a sawtooth or ratchetshape in cross'secti-omas shown in Fig. 4.

To suit the screen for use with any particular size of coal, the broaderface, B, of each of these troughs or valleys is made a little wider thana single lump of coal as it slides down the trough with its lower sideengaging the face or trough side B.

As the mingled lumps or pieces of coal and slate (the latter beingnaturally, as is well known, flatter than the former) slide down thetroughs or valleys, each piece of slate and coal is caused by theinclination of face B, over which it slides, to work over against theface B of the trough and bear against the same. The lower portions ofthe abrupt walls or faces B B near the lower end of the plate, are cutaway, as shown, to form the slots or spaces 0 O, which will allow theflat pieces of slate to pass off of the inclined faces B B and dropthrough into a chute or hopper, D, below, while the thicker pieces ofcoal are retained on the plate and pass off of its lower end onto theapron or chute E, which projects under the lower end of the screen, tobe conducted away as desired. To prevent any of the pieces of slate fromsticking in the slots 0 O and clogging, we make such slots increasing insize toward their tail ends. With this construction, if a piece of slatecan not pass freely through the upper or first portion of a slot, itwill be moved along by the sliding coal to a wider part of the slot,which it can pass through. The bars ortransverse supports F F, uponwhich the screen-plate is sustained, are both, as shown, situated underthe plate above the point at which the slots 0 O begin, so as to leavesuch slots entirely free and un obstructed.

The operation of our invention is as follows: As is well known, coalgenerally breaks into cubical and nearly sphericalor rounded pieces,while slate usually breaks into fiat pieces.

When a lot of coal and slate has been sized by passing through square orround holes or meshes in a suitable screen, the pieces of slate, onaccount of their fiat form, can obviously be made to pass through a slitwhich would not allow the passage of the coal. Such sized coal or slatewe conduct by the chute A to the screen-plate B, where the pieces ofcoal and slate slide down the sawtoothed or ratchetshaped grooves B BB13 and arrange themselves against the sides or faces B B of suchgrooves. As the pieces of slate reach the slots 0 0, they, being nolonger held by the faces B B, fall through the slots and are received bythe chute or hopper D, to be conducted away. The pieces of coal, as theycannot, from their shape, pass through such slots, continue on downalong the' screen-plate and pass onto the apron or lower chute, E. Withthe flat pieces of slate of course any flat coal which there may be willalso drop through the slots 0 0. Such flat coal and slate are conductedto a pickingtable, where the coal is picked out and the slate is allowedto run into the slate-pocket and is thrown away. As there is only asmall amount of coal which thus passes out with the slate, it is verymuch easier to pick the coal from the mass of slate than it is to pickthe slate from the coal, as has heretofore been done. I

'If itis found that the picker-screen is letting down too much-'coalwith the slate, all that is necessary is to continue the upper portionof the chute or apron E farther up under the slotted end ofthe screen.We contemplate for this purpose making such apron orthe upper end of thelower chute adjustable in any suitable way. We therefore place in thechute A at its rear end the plate E, as.

shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Such plate, forming the upper face of thechute-bottom, can be set farther up or down in the chute, as desired, or

can be fixed to project more or less beyond BF Bi, so that by the timethey reach the slots OO each piece'of slate will certainly be bearingagainst one of such sides in position to drop immediately through a slot0 as soon as it reaches the point at which such slot is large enough topermitits passage. With the slots extending up the whole length of thevalleys the pieces of slate and coal do not have the chance to properlyarrange themselves before 7, reaching the slots, and as the increase insize of the slots must be more gradual on account of their greaterlength, the pieces of slate are more apt to stick in the slots and clogthan where the slots are short and the angle of the flare of the slotsis greater, as in our picker.

While we contemplate sizing the mixed coal and slate before it reachesthe picker, such rial of a flattened shape from other articles or piecesof different shape. It can be used, for instance, to separate pieces ofshell and fiat pebbles or stones from gravel, or the flat or laminatedpieces of metal from ore.

Having thus described-our invention, what we claim is- 1. As a means ofseparating flat pieces of material from other pieces differently shaped,an inclined trough having the face over which the pieces slide inclinedto one side, the abrupt face on the side toward which the other face.inclines,and the continuous slot or opening in the abrupt face beginningat point near the lower end of the trough, substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

2. As a means of separating flat pieces of material from pieces of othershapes, a trough having the face over which the pieces of material slidemade sloping toward one side and a face toward which the first faceslopes provided with a continuous slot beginning near the discharge endof the trough and increasing in size toward such end, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

3. The screen for separating flat pieces of material from pieces ofdifferent shape, consisting of a series of troughs or valleys, eachhaving a face inclined toward one side and an abrupt face toward whichthe other face is inclined, and having a slot in itsabrupt facebeginning near the discharge en s of the troughs and increasing in sizetoward such ends, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

v4t. In combinationwith a suitable guidingchute for the material to beseparated, the separator-screen consisting of the plate having theseries of valleys-or grooves saw-toothshaped in cross-section andprovided with the slots in the sides of such valleys, beginning near thedischarge ends of the valleys and increasing. in size toward and to theends thereof, substantially as and for the purpose shown.

5. The plate for use in separating coal cast in one piece having thelongitudinal faces inclined or pitching toward one side of the plate,the abrupt faces joining the lower sides of the inclined faces with thehigher sides of the contiguous faces, the slots in the abrupt facesbeginning-near the ends thereof and increasing in size toward theirends, and the transverse bars or ribs on the under sides of the plate,substantially as and for the purpose shown.

6. In combination with the inclined plate In testimony that We claim theforegoing we IO having the longitudinal troughs or vaileyssawhavehereunto set our hands this 31st day of tooth-shaped in cross-sectionand the slots in January, 1887. the abrupt sides of the valleysbeginning near 5 the discharge end of the plate and increasing in sizedown to such end,areceiving-chute pr0- jecting under the end of thescreen and made Witnesses: adjustable thereunder, substantially as andfor ARTHUR MOCLELLAN, the purpose set forth. ELLIOTT A. OBERRENDER.

EOKLEY B. OOXE. SAMUEL SALMON.

